I think there ought to be a club in which preachers and journalists could come together and have the sentimentalism of the one matched with the cynicism of the other. That ought to bring them pretty close to the truth. Reinhold Niebuhr
Meditation: For the past 96 days I have enjoyed the NPR radio show “Indivisible” that has been on the air weekdays at 8pm for the first 100 days of the Trump administration. I enjoyed hearing the dialogue between very different perspectives and the “cross- fertilization” that happened. As people who include spirituality in our approach to life we need to talk to people who approach life differently than we do. This exercise can protect us from possibly becoming removed from reality or “sentimental” as Niebuhr puts it. At the same time we can contribute a perspective that persons who approach life “cynically” as Niebuhr calls it might need to hear or be reminded of. I hope that another show like “Indivisible” will be aired after the first 100 days. We desperately need safe spaces to invite each other to ask questions and to listen.
Prayer: God, teach us to listen. Help us walk in another person’s shoes for a moment. Help us to see the world through another person’s eyes for a while. Fill us with your Spirit of patience. Help us speak our truth in love. Help us not to react. Be our model so we can find that space where we can truly listen to each other and let go of extremes. Help us to extend love as Jesus did. Teach us to extend invitations rather than place judgment. Amen
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. Philippians 2:2-3
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